Highlights from Nike Football Camps with Chelsea FC in Summer 2019
/This summer saw the launch of our new residential Nike Football Camps with Chelsea FC Foundation. Over 450 players of 60 nationalities joined us for some expert football training and life skills coaching from a fantastic team of Chelsea FC Foundation coaches and to enjoy some exclusive access to the club’s facilities with a number of exciting excursions! We look back and hear from the head coach and others about what makes these camps so special.
Some of the highlights of the summer include a surprise run-in with a Chelsea FC football legend, being inspired by the success of the Women’s World Cup, the weekly player awards ceremony at Stamford Bridge (which included a top secret prize!) as well as some impressive matches against some local Chelsea Foundation teams. We’re already looking forward to next year!
THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP EFFECT
The camps kicked-off with the Women’s Football World Cup in full swing. Chelsea FC cheered on eleven of their players who were representing six different countries in the tournament. The excitement was tangible, particularly throughout the girl’s camps. Natalia, who spent two weeks with us on camp, grew up playing for boy’s team in the Philippines. She spoke about the lack of opportunities for girl players in her country and stereotypes of football being a male sport discouraging young girls to play. Speaking on the worldwide success of the Women’s World Cup however, she has hopes that it has inspired confidence in a new wave of female players to emerge. “I think the Women's World Cup has really inspired a lot of girls around the world and I’m really glad about that! In Indonesia, where I’m based, there’s not a lot of girls who play football, but for those of us who do we’re really close. We share a really good bond. I saw that among the players in the national teams too!”
UPHOLDING THE CAMP ETHOS TO “LIVE LIKE A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER”
Overseeing the action on camp was Head Coach Sam Pothecary, a football coach with 14+ years experience of coaching players internationally. He joined the Chelsea FC Foundation in November 2018 having been impressed by the club’s coaching pathway and its commitment to nurturing young talent. “They’re doing everything like a young, elite male or female football player would be doing,” commented Sam on the camp ethos - play like a professional footballer, study like a professional footballer, live like a professional footballer. Sam and his team of coaches ensured that an environment prevailed on camp where each player felt supported and at the same time challenged to fully immerse themselves in the camp ethos, expand their existing capabilities and tap into their potential. “Don’t be afraid to just jump. If you’re not sure, it’s alright. We’ll look after you.” It’s the message he gives to all the young players on camp.
CREATING AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR YOUNG PLAYERS
The weekly trips to Cobham proved to be a big one for both the players and the staff who looked forward each week to the prospect of bumping in to a First Team player. “For me, the Cobham excursion is the highlight of the week,” says Sam. “The way we’ve designed the week is so that the last training day on camp is at the Chelsea FC Training Centre. It’s where the first team train, where the academy players are - this is where you live and breathe it all.” The trip gives the players a chance to see if they can put together everything that they’ve been learning all week and encourages them to bring out their competitive edge. “We set up mini tournaments in the morning and in the afternoon we have the big fixtures. The aim is to get them playing and feeling it. They can go home and tell their mum and dad, I’ve played there. I’ve played at Chelsea’s training ground!” There were a lot of excited phone calls to home each Friday evening back at the camp!
Saturday’s were spent at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club and a pride of West London. “The trip to Stamford Bridge is the cherry on top,” continues Sam. The players get to eat lunch in the Centenary Suite and have the opportunity to take photos with the EUROPA League Trophy. Included in the day’s itinerary is an “access all areas” tour of the stadium and the chance to take a seat in the home and the away changing rooms. “You see on their faces they’re thinking, Yeah, I want my shirt hanging up there!” says Sam.
THE EXTRAS
Being a new venture, the players on camp had access to a lot of stuff that other camps don’t get. The football expert workshops turned out to be a valuable feature added and helped to expose the players to a broader view of the game and the possible career paths on offer.
Giving talks from Chelsea FC was Chris Robinson, Head of Integration Recruitment at Chelsea FC Academy, Scott McLachlan, Head of International Scouts for Chelsea FC, and Tom Shanks, Performance Analyst. These weekly talks gave some really interesting insights into other aspects of football that few of the players had considered before. “We tell all the players to be open to and enjoy every aspect of the camp because there may be some things you take away that you didn’t expect to,” says Sam.
A stand out moment was during Scott’s seminar when he shared the scouting timeline of Christian Pulisic. He showed the players how Chelsea FC had scouted Pulisic back in 2013 when he was just 13 years old. His story really resonated with a lot of the young players. “We’ve got 13 year old American players on camp who were sitting there thinking, ‘That could be me!’” observed Sam.
When asked about the benefits of running workshops such as these with young players Tom had the following to say - “It adds a different element to the camp. All kids like playing, but it benefits to learn in different ways. Workshops like these allows learners who maybe aren’t the most extroverted on the pitch the opportunity to showcase the other strengths they’ve got to their game. It might be that they have some really good ideas on tactics, but on the training pitch they might struggle to get those across. Within a workshop, hopefully they’ll be given an opportunity to do that. It’s also about engaging players in different elements of the game. All the children who come on a football camp are interested in football, hopefully they want to play professionally, but at least be involved in football. Showing them the different types of avenues that they can go down will hopefully spark some ideas for them as well.”
There was also the Fixtures which added a whole new level of excitement to the week and proved to be hugely popular among the players.“That’s why you play football - you want to play matches and you want to show what you can do against other people,” tells Sam. “We, as coaches, get to see different attributes at game time. That’s something we really want to push - making sure we’ve got every age playing a match at least once a week.” So, look out for more of that next summer!
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH A CHELSEA LEGEND
One of the best moments on camp happened during a trip to Cobham when the players came face-to-face with a real Chelsea FC football legend, Joe Cole. Joe took time out of his busy working schedule as a Technical Academy Coach for Chelsea FC to take part in a Q&A sessions with the players. He was asked some great questions by the players including what it feels like to play in front of thousands of fans. His response was one everyone could relate to, “It’s great. It’s the best feeling ever. When you get that feeling of butterflies in your stomach, you know you’re ready.”
Joe, who has played 32 times in France, was also asked what is it like being an English player abroad. His answer inspired many of our players, who were themselves playing in a new country, “I loved living the lifestyle of a Frenchman - eating like a Frenchman, living like a Frenchman and just embracing everything about the local culture.”
Having been part of one of the greatest teams that Chelsea FC have had, going on to win back-to-back Premier Leagues, Joe was called to reflect on the key winning attributes, “We had great physicality, great technicality and lastly we had great harmony within the team,” was his response.
The Nike Football Camps with Chelsea FC Foundation will return in summer 2020 and are available to 9-17 year olds. For more information click here
